NEW YORK (AP) — Expecting a tax refund? It could be smaller than last year. And with inflation still high, that money won’t go as far as it did a year ago.
The 90 million taxpayers who have filed as of March 31 got refunds that were an average of nearly 10% less than last year, in part due to pandemic relief programs expiring. The filing deadline for most taxpayers is Tuesday.
The average refund is $2,910, down from $3,226, a difference of more than $300, according to the most recent IRS data.
For many households, especially working families, the tax refund is the biggest one-time financial windfall of the year, said Kathy Pickering, chief tax officer of H&R Block.
“We know that working families in general are the most cash-strapped,” she said, adding that the expanded earned income tax and child tax credits during the COVID pandemic provided a lot of benefits for families with children.